New-to-Florida big box gym will take over dark Winn-Dixie in West Tampa
EOS Fitness Coming to Tampa
BDG Architects is currently working with Wallace Enterprises and NorthBridge Commercial Real Estate Group to transform this former Winn Dixie into a modern new EOS Fitness facility in the rebranded Midtown Pointe shopping center.
Tampa Bay Business Journal
A new-to-Florida chain of big box gyms has signed a deal to take over the entirety of a former Winn-Dixie store in West Tampa.
EōS Fitness will occupy the 45,000-square-foot box at the intersection of North Dale Mabry Highway and Columbus Drive, said Jannie DelRio, broker with NorthBridge Commercial Real Estate Group, who represents the Atlanta-based ownership of the shopping center.
Tyler McRae, principal with Meridian Retail Group, represented EōS in the transaction.
It had long been speculated in commercial real estate circles that another grocer would land in that space, which Winn-Dixie shuttered in early 2018 in a round of mass store closings.
But EōS, which said earlier this year that it is planning five locations in Tampa, will also be a boost to tenants in the shopping center by drawing regular foot traffic to the property, DelRio said. The shopping center, which never had a formal name before, has been rebranded Midtown Pointe, and DelRio said a multimillion-dollar renovation, centered around the new EōS, is in the works.
"We are also going to be making it more contemporary," she said.
The new EōS location and shopping center renovation are the latest major investment in this stretch of North Dale Mabry Highway. Midtown Pointe is just under a mile from Midtown Tampa, a $500 million mixed-use development under construction at the intersection of North Dale Mabry and Interstate 275. It is across the street from a Jerry Ulm car dealership property that will be redeveloped to include a new prototype for Rooms to Go.
It will be the first EōS location outside of the Southwestern and Western U.S.
Construction, DelRio said, will likely begin in February 2020, after the city signs off on the plans to convert the grocery store to a gym.
When EōS announced its Florida expansion plan, it was welcome news for retail real estate. Fitness concepts, from value-driven gym chains to studio classes, are a big user of retail space. But with an average location of 50,000 square foot, EōS is much larger than many of its counterparts in the fitness industry.
Besides standard cardio and weight equipment, EōS also offers a turf area it calls "The Yard," a large open turf area for training with battle ropes and weighted sleds. It bills itself as a "high value low price" gym, with memberships that start at $9.99 per month. Among its other amenities are "MOVEōS Cinema, where movies are played during workouts and a range of cardio equipment is available."